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A review by golden_lily
Hit by Lorie Ann Grover
2.0
Well someone wants to be Gayle Forman so bad it hurts.
Updated 10/13/14:
Read This Review & More Like It At Ageless Pages Reviews
Hit is a combination of If I Stay and a Lifetime original movie about student teacher relationships. The premise sounded intriguing, and I think it has promise, but unfortunately the execution is lacking. The prose didn’t resonate with me because it was marred by sophomoric writing. Metaphors were mixed, dialogue was stilted, and scenes were hard to visualize due to clunky descriptors. (“Her wild black bun bobs around her head like a boxer’s fist”.) Characters in this book say each other's names more in one scene than I say my husband's in a month.
Not only is that lazy exposition, regarding Chantelle, it’s all redundant and boring to read. There are instances of characters licking their own cheeks and American characters using “flat” for apartment. I could forgive some of these issues, but not all of them, not from an author publishing for ten years.
I wanted some mystery to Sarah and Haddings’ relationship, but the dual POVs very quickly remove any suspense. Haddings is an unreliable narrator, but stalking the girl, sending her red roses, being disappointed at her ultimate choice, all point to his true feelings. If it had only been Sarah’s point of view, especially with the false memories from her trauma, it might have lent the book some depth. Or not, considering how little their relationship actually plays into their lives.
I also think the book takes place on too small a scale. There are no legal ramifications, no real emotional struggles. The book only takes place over three days. Everything happens too fast, too neatly. There’s too much emphasis is placed on how hideous Sarah looks after her surgery, but not enough on her possible brain damage. I would say 90% of her and her mother’s interactions are about Sarah’s ruined beauty.
The end was the biggest disappointment. As I said, it’s too neat. Characters undergo insane amounts of growth and discover forgiveness through faith in an unnatural way. And then there’s the paragraph where Sarah actually sums up all of the literary ideas in the story. Well it’ll make it easy for anyone who’s writing a book report.
In the end, the book doesn’t work for me at all. I wish it did, but unfortunately I recommend a pass.
Updated 10/13/14:
Read This Review & More Like It At Ageless Pages Reviews
Hit is a combination of If I Stay and a Lifetime original movie about student teacher relationships. The premise sounded intriguing, and I think it has promise, but unfortunately the execution is lacking. The prose didn’t resonate with me because it was marred by sophomoric writing. Metaphors were mixed, dialogue was stilted, and scenes were hard to visualize due to clunky descriptors. (“Her wild black bun bobs around her head like a boxer’s fist”.) Characters in this book say each other's names more in one scene than I say my husband's in a month.
“It’s going to be all right, Luke, …Oh, Cydni and her mother, Chantelle are here?... Sarah is going to be fine, Janet,” …
“Mark, listen --”
“Have you seen Sarah or the doctor?”
“Yes, Mark. … Sarah’s having brain surgery.”
Not only is that lazy exposition, regarding Chantelle, it’s all redundant and boring to read. There are instances of characters licking their own cheeks and American characters using “flat” for apartment. I could forgive some of these issues, but not all of them, not from an author publishing for ten years.
I wanted some mystery to Sarah and Haddings’ relationship, but the dual POVs very quickly remove any suspense. Haddings is an unreliable narrator, but stalking the girl, sending her red roses, being disappointed at her ultimate choice, all point to his true feelings. If it had only been Sarah’s point of view, especially with the false memories from her trauma, it might have lent the book some depth. Or not, considering how little their relationship actually plays into their lives.
I also think the book takes place on too small a scale. There are no legal ramifications, no real emotional struggles. The book only takes place over three days. Everything happens too fast, too neatly. There’s too much emphasis is placed on how hideous Sarah looks after her surgery, but not enough on her possible brain damage. I would say 90% of her and her mother’s interactions are about Sarah’s ruined beauty.
The end was the biggest disappointment. As I said, it’s too neat. Characters undergo insane amounts of growth and discover forgiveness through faith in an unnatural way. And then there’s the paragraph where Sarah actually sums up all of the literary ideas in the story. Well it’ll make it easy for anyone who’s writing a book report.
Spoiler
A thousand thoughts flood my brain. University of Washington. Mills College. Guilt versus attraction. Duty versus love. Friendship wit Haddings or being alone, at least for the foreseeable future. School versus guy relationships. Forgiveness versus anger. Me versus us, when there never really was an “us”, although I won’t give up that I caught his eye. Finding out who I am now versus trying to return to who I was. Good versus bad. Right versus wrong. Ultimately, what’s best for me solely.
In the end, the book doesn’t work for me at all. I wish it did, but unfortunately I recommend a pass.